Postmortem Brew ReviewLight golden to straw, in color.Grainy and sweet smelling with no hops.White head with zero retention and lace.
Medium, active amount of carbonation.
Light bodied. Sticky sweet taste on palate.

Grim Reaper's Eulogy
Known as the "grenade" for its bottle's appearance, Mickeys Malt Liquor is one of those distinct throw back beers from bygone days. It's in the same category as the Schlitz Malt Liquor "Bull" and Haffenreffer's "Mean Green"whereas any frat boy with pocket change looking for a cheap buzz, is the target market.

It is not without any merit. This little pocketful of dynamite will fit neatly in the cooler and won't weigh you down. It's pretty easy to swill out of the large mouthed, chugger style opening. They even have rebuses under the cap to entertain you once the buzz hits. And when the buzz does kick in, you'll be glad they are pictures, (not complicated things like words!) At a mere 5.6% ABV, it will hit you like a UFC fighter. Seriously, some of those guys are pitchmen for this little stinger.

You should be getting the picture of where this fits into your beer drinking escapades by now. So, get stung if you will, but The Reaper has warned you! Use care in handling these grenades.

Wednesday, August 25, 2010

Where to Dig Up More About This Beer
Smuttynose - Old Brown Dog Ale
Smuttynose Brewing Company
Portsmouth, NH USAEst.1994www.smuttynose.com

Brain Damage Quotient = 6.5 % ABVFluid Oz. = 12.0

Postmortem Brew ReviewDeep rich brown color.Hops, malts and maybe cinnamon or nutmeg in the aromas.
Soft warming feel and fruity, soft spice flavor.
Two finger head with some rings of lacing.Sweet caramel malts and some nutty spices tickle the tongue.
Medium mouth feel and good balance of carbonation.

Grim Reaper's EulogyThere's Olive, perched on her pillow bed, posing for the camera. Good dog! Just a snapshot in time, capturing the moment of her grandeur. Looking like a 1989 GABF Silver Medal winner all the way!

The beer is a snapshot too, of what a good brown ale can be. Just like the working class dog in the photo, this beer will serve you well. It has enough rich color and body along with some oomph to keep you up and going...perhaps for a walk? Did someone say 'go for a walk'???

Grab the leash and get down to the store to adopt one (or six) of these pups. Get going.

Monday, August 23, 2010

Where to Dig Up More About This BeerWhite Rascal
Avery Brewing
5763 Arapahoe Ave.
Boulder, ColoradoUSAEst. 1993www.averybrewing.com

Brain Damage Quotient = 5.5 % ABVFluid Oz. = 12.0

Postmortem Brew Review
Golden yellow body.
Light scent of coriander and spice. Touch of yeast on the nose. Fairly long lasting head that is tightly bubbled.Minimal lace on glass.Light and airy taste similar to a sparkling wine.
Light mouth feel.

Grim Reaper's EulogyGreat little wit. Refreshing and surprisingly drinks like and expensive Belgian style, though it is light in alcohol. I found this to have such a tight crisp flavor and bubbly head. It could have passed for a sparkling wine.

Typically, I do not prefer witbier but as the dog days of summer press on, it's reasonable to persue these light tasting, lower alcohol but full flavor brews.

Grim Reaper's EulogyAlso on tap at the World of Beer, another fine Rogue brew for the Beertopia lineup. This one has a distinct hoppy aroma and flavor. It is dry hopping that brings the flavors out in this ale. A nice but not overpowering amount of hops. Easy to drink and oh, so tasty.

Grim Reaper's EulogyAnother of the rare beers of Rogue from the tap, sampled on the east coast of the US. John John was delicious. A tickle of juniper taste and a slight oaked blast towards the end. Not overly hopped; at only 34 IBU it was just right. The play of the hops aromas and juniper taste made for a very pleasing and interesting taste. Tastes wonderfully like a Spruce Pine tree!

Great to have a sample of this at "Beertopia" at my local World of Beer and their celebration of Rogue ales on tap.

Postmortem Brew ReviewYellow orange in color.Caramel malt taste and aroma with floral scent of hops.Off-white, almost tan head with good retention.
Light carbonation with hoppy finish.Light to medium bodied, hearty flavor.

The Reaper enjoys this Super Maibock ale when it's just the regular Dead Guy. It was on tap at World of Beer for a display of Rogue's finest fares. The event? Beertopia. So appropriate for a fine brewer like Rogue.

This has made limited appearances, so be sure to get some when you see it.

Saturday, August 14, 2010

Where to Dig Up More About This BeerBrooklyn Sorachi AceBrooklyn Brewery
#1 Brewers Row
79 North 11th StreetBrooklyn , NY USA
Est. 1988www.brooklynbrewery.com

Brain Damage Quotient = 7.6 % ABVFluid Oz. = 25.4

Postmortem Brew ReviewClear, dull pale gold color.Fruity, lemongrass and Belgian yeast funk in aroma.
White foaming head goes to about two fingers high.Great legs of lacing up and down the glass.Taste similar to the smell with a twinge of pepper finish.Bouncy carbonation.
Full flavored but light to drink for the ABV content.

Grim Reaper's EulogySorachi Ace is a hop derived from and developed in Japan. It is best noted for its lemon fragrance, thus making it extremely suitable for farmhouse style saison ales. Sessionable, but watch out for the 7.6% alcohol content. There is no booziness or alcohol taste as it borders on 8%. I can easily see getting carried away espscially with the bomber sized bottle.

So find a friend to share with, or at least one that will offer to drive you home safely. On second thought, just get a couple of these, a few friends and sit around the pool in lounge chairs, then everyone has fun and no one needs to get behind the wheel. That way, you are the Ace and not the Joker.

Friday, August 13, 2010

Where to Dig Up More About This BeerOdell Mountain Standard Reserve '09Odell Brewing Company800 East Lincoln AvenueFort Collins, CO USAEst. 1989www.odellbrewing.com

Brain Damage Quotient = 8.5 % ABVFluid Oz. = 25.4

Postmortem Brew ReviewMahogany brown color with subtle hints of ruby tones.
Piney hops and a nutty sweet aroma from the nose. A bit of malt in reserve.
Silky looking, tight foaming, two fingered head.
Great amount of lacing with each sip.Very active carbonation.
Taste reveals a maltier than expected front with toned down hops finish. Quite the reverse of the smell.Medium bodied mouth feel and dry finish. Very balanced.

Grim Reaper's EulogySome days my bony fingers ache, leaving me slack to write about the qualities of a current beer. Other days, I cannot wait to exude the thoughts on to the page fast enough. Especially when it is a beer that is not oft seen in this crypt's parts. The excitement to examine and enjoy spilled out of me, as fast as the beer was poured from the bottle. I make no shame about this beer - - - Odell is one of my guilty pleasures.

Returned home with this stuff in May and was patient enough to wait to try it out. At the end of a rather stressful week, digging the ditches at work, this was a just reward. Shared in the company of close family and offered up as a special treat, I got excited to finally open the Mountain Standard, a beer that is lovingly named for the time zone in which it is crafted. A rather lucky end-of-the-day to an unlucky Friday the 13th.

Immediately, our noses were greeted by that special hop signature that is only Odell's. We all recognized it the minute we raised our glasses up to our lips and sniffed in that luscious hop aroma; one that is like no other. An aroma I can tell with my eyes closed. I don't know how they do it, but I hope they just keep on doing it the same way, over and over. Until it is ever locally available, I will have to return with regularity across the Mississippi to one of the states that does sell Odell. And I pray that there may be another Reserve Series in a coming year for Mountain Standard.

Did I mention how lucky this Friday the 13th was? I am so glad I brought back two bottles.

Wednesday, August 11, 2010

Where to Dig Up More About This BeerFort Collins Brewery - Retro RedFort Collins Brewery
1900 East Lincoln Avenue
Fort Collins, COUSAEst. ????www.fortcollinsbrewery.com

Brain Damage Quotient = 5.2 % ABVFluid Oz. = 12.0

Postmortem Brew ReviewMahogany with ruby tones on glass edge.Malt and an earthy smokiness present in the nose, along with some hops.Foamy off-white head leaving decent amount of lacing.
Medium amount of carbonation.Carmel malt taste prevails with a nice spicy dry hops finish.Medium bodied.

Grim Reaper's Eulogy
Here is a very nice amber style beer that you can enjoy by the wagon load. It's a simple little bottle of malt and a snap of hops to grab your tongue's attention. Short and caramel malt sweet, just like this post.

Grim Reaper's Eulogy
Great beer from Great Divide. Solid IPA and there is really little else to say. This is quite a good ale. The hops are there in the nose. They invite your senses in where you find a malty sweetness and then a nice hops bitterness on the finish. Wow.

It may be Great Divide, but there is a tiny little titan gladiator on the label. Hmm...Gladiator? Naaa - more like glad I drank her.

These pale ales are naturally concocted with no preservatives and are also bottle conditioned. They suggest that you gently roll the bottle about three rotations before opening and enjoying, to swirl any yeast sediment caused form upright storage. It's a pale ale like no other that you might be used to drinking. It looks and drinks more like an average American yellow lager. But with a bit more clean clear flavor of grain and hops. All in all it's pretty good turps and goes well with just about any kind of tucker.

These blokes don't only make some good beer, but they can also help you make it. Coopers is a standard for home brewing, selling full kits and after-market supplies to assist the home brewer in their quest to quench a thirst the size of the Aussie Outback. And they have a long tradition of brewing, dating back to 1862.

Check out the bearded gentleman that greets you at their website, then get some, mate!

Scotch style by the BJCP implies one of three, 9A-Light, 9B-Heavy or 9C-Export. This is categorized as a Wee Heavy. But wait! There is that nagging end tag of Ruby Ale. Under the Scotch Style there is a separate category of 9D-Irish Red (Ruby) Ale. So what is this schizophrenic brew anyway?

None of the above! Wee Heavy gives it away as a 9E-Strong Scotch Ale. So there it is, all you would-be Quincy M.E.'s. It's a Wee Heavy and not too bad for an ale with a bit of an identity crisis. Pike would like you to know that this is, "...an approachable Scottish Ale."

So off to the morgue with you all. Lift your kilt and examine one soon!

Sunday, August 1, 2010

Where to Dig Up More About This Beer
Don de DieuUnibroue Inc.
80, Des Carrieres
Chambly, QuebecCanadaEst. 1992unibroue.com/products

Brain Damage Quotient = 9.0 % ABVFluid Oz. = 12.0

Postmortem Brew Review
Light honey yellow-orange color with slight cloudy haze.
Whiffs of alcohol, some kind of fruit (apple/banana/raisin) and yeast.
One finger fluffy white head with good lacing and retention.Lots of fizzy carbonation with active surface nucleation strands.Very slight boozy taste as it warms, sweetness in each sip. Full flavor, complex aromas, medium body.Grim Reaper's EulogyDon de Dieu literally means "Gift from God". It is indeed a treat for the senses. Full of nose tingling bubbles and sweet apple-like aroma, it is a fitting way to wind down the day.

The label depicts the Don de Dieu; ship of Samuel de Champlain. In the early 1600's, Champlain sailed from France to settle Quebec where he encountered the St. Lawrence Iroquoians, natives to North America. Sadly, it was the last of the days for the Iroquois as a tribe. As for Champlain and his crew, their first winter was tough. It claimed 16 of the crew of 24.

Happily, their stories live on. Partly due to this wonderful Belgian style ale. Set sail with this ale.